2007 - 2008 Alumni
Deborah Lifton, Soprano
Recipient of the Joy in Singing Foundation Award, 2nd prize winner of the 2011 Young Artist Award from the National Federation of Music Clubs and a winner of the David Adams Song Competition, Soprano Deborah Lifton is emerging as one of today’s most interesting and versatile young singers.
“Her high notes were thrilling, her diction clear, and her concentration never wavered as she skillfully conveyed the meaning of each song," wrote The New York Concert Review of Ms. Lifton’s recent debut recital at New York’s Merkin Hall. "She is a fine singing actress whose expressivity always seems to come from within…”.
An active recitalist, Ms. Lifton has also performed at Trinity Church, the Kosciuszko Foundation, Lippes Concert Hall, Yamaha Showroom, and Aspen, Colorado’s Harris Concert Hall.
Upcoming engagements for 2011-2012 include the role of Millicent in the world premiere opera "The Secret Agent" at the Szeged National Theater in Szeged, Hungary (broadcast live on Mezzo televsion) and the role of Elle in Poulenc's one-woman opera La voix humaine.
Deborah has performed leading roles with Encompass New Opera Theater’s production of two one-act contemporary operas composed by Philip Hagemann at New York’s Symphony Space. Other operatic appearances include both Susanna and Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Beth in Little Women, Ellie in Showboat, Elisa in Il Re Pastore, and Catherine in A Death in the Family (Albany Records), as well as title roles in Bastien und Bastienne, L’enfant et les sortileges, and Armida. Ms. Lifton has appeared with Mercury Opera Rochester, The Natchez Opera Festival, The Ash Lawn-Highland Festival, The Aspen Music Festival, The Bronx Opera Company, and Ridotto Opera and Center for Contemporary Opera.
Ms. Lifton regularly performs on sound tracks for documentaries and nationally televised commercials. She has also been heard on WQXR and was featured in Young Opera, a new series on PBS.org.
She holds degrees in music from the University of Michigan and the Manhattan School of Music. She has taught at New York University, Mannes College of Music (prep division) Syracuse University, Cornell University and Ithaca College.
Diego Matamoros, Bass-Baritone
Diego Matamoros recently made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Potapitch in Prokofiev’s The Gambler under Valery Gergiev. As the 2008 winner of The Opera Foundation’s Amber Capital Scholarship, Diego spent a year in residence at the Teatro Regio di Torino. There he appeared in 64 performances of 9 roles, including Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Schaunard in La Bohème, Haly in L’Italiana in Algieri, and Quinault in Adriana Lecouvreur. In 2010 he returns to the Regio to reprise the roles of Belcore and Schaunard, and will join the Regio on their tour of Bohème in Shanghai. During three years of study at Yale University (MM & AD), Diego was featured as Schaunard in La Bohème, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has taken part in the E…state all’Opera! summer festival of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, performing numerous leading roles. Diego has also served on the voice faculty of the St. Mary’s College Alba Music Festival, where he has performed numerous concert works. At the 2005 Macallister Awards he received a special prize for the best singer under 24. Born in Venezuela, but raised in the United States, Diego is an accomplished linguist – in addition to his native English and Spanish, he graduated summa cum laude from New York University in Italian and French literature, and has studied German and Japanese.
Eric Barry, Tenor
Eric Barry has set himself apart from other tenors through his signature sound, musical sincerity, and ease of dramatic expression. On stage he is an excellent actor with surprising range, while off stage he is a remarkably generous and giving colleague.
His performances have earned him international approval - the PBS documentary 'Young Opera' declared him to be "the next big thing in the tenor world."
The Spanish-American tenor has been heard throughout the US and Europe-including broadcasts on National Public Radio. Eric is a graduate of the prestigious School of Music at Yale University.
Maria Elena Armijo, Mezzo-Soprano
Hailing from the southwest region of the United States, mezzo soprano Maria Elena Armijo recognized her calling at an early age. Upon obtaining a Bachelor of Music degree from New Mexico State University and a Master of Music degree from the University of Washington, Ms. Armijo's musical journey unavoidably led her to New York City, where she is fast becoming a formidable entity in her realm. Best known for her honesty, warmth and generosity, Ms. Armijo is a unique vocal talent whose skills lend themselves easily and beautifully to a wide range of repertoire, including oratorio, opera, operetta, jazz and musical theater. Her total commitment, extraordinary dramatic skills and overall grace easily transport audiences into the life of any character she is portraying.
Ms. Armijo's ever broadening repertoire includes Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Amastre (Serse), Adah (The Naughty Marietta), Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas), Annina (La Traviata), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette), The Second Witch (Dido and Aeneas), Mercédès (Carmen), and Marianne (The Cat That Turned into a Woman), Aminta (Il Re Pastore), L'Enfant (L'Enfant et les Sortiléges), Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Venus (Orphée aux Enfers), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni).
Ms. Armijo has sung with companies throughout the United States and Europe. Some of these include Pocket Opera of New York, Light Opera of New York, New Rochelle Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, Syracuse Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Empire Opera, Bay View Music Festival, Tacoma Opera, Bellevue Opera, Off-Center Opera, Dona Ana Lyric Opera, America Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), and OperaWorks.
Jeremiah Duarte-Bills, Flutist
Flutist Jeremiah Duarte-Bills is an active soloist, orchestral player, performer of new music and composer. Born in the Northern California foothills, Jeremiah has been a concerto soloist with the Diablo Symphony, the Sacramento Philharmonic, the Sacramento Bach Festival and the California Wind Orchestra. In the spring of 2010 he performed J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 with Ani Kavafian and Carol Wincenc and in the winter he performed in Mark Morris’ production The Hard Nut. He has given solo recitals at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and at the Old First Church Recital Series in San Francisco.
Jeremiah performs and tours with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas often as principal flute. He can be heard on the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas new Sony Classical recording Mi Alma Mexicana.
As an avid performer of new compositions Jeremiah has performed and recorded with multimedia ensemble Vision into Art, the NOW Ensemble and given other premieres by Adina Izarra, Milica Paranosic, Mogens Christensen, David Conte, Sunny Knable and JooWan Kim . Jeremiah’s compositions for flute and interactive electronics have been premiered at the Tonhalle-Orchester in Zurich, Switzerland, the Miller Theatre at Columbia University and The Juilliard School.
Jeremiah received a master’s degree from The Juilliard School, studying flute with Carol Wincenc and electronics with Mari Kimura. He received a bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a student of Tim Day. He also attended the Tanglewood Music Festival, Music Academy of the West and the Sarasota Music Festival.
Neera Islam, Soprano
Neera Islam has been singing, dancing, acting and playing the piano since she can remember. She made her acting debut as young Timoune in 2001 in Once On This Island with the University of Hartford’s SummerStage Players. In 2005 she played young Sahar in Raisins Not Virgins – Abdul, a short comedy about being female, feminist and Muslim featured at the 2005 Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in New York. In 2006, Ms. Islam appeared at the Barrow Street Theater in New York as the teenaged Shanti Menon in a benefit performance of Interrogations, a drama of a family tragically affected by the silence surrounding their abusive household.
At LaGuardia beyond her studio requirements, Neera was in the cast of Hair and The Pirates of Penzance and will appear in this year’s talent showcase “Rising Stars”. She has sung with the Connecticut Children’s Concert Choir in a wide range of performances including several at the Bushnell Theater with the Hartford Symphony and with visiting artists at the Bushnell. Ms. Islam also sang with The Young People’s Concert Chorus of New York City and has studied voice since she was eight. Her teachers included Arianna Zuckerman, concert soprano, and Anna Lenhardt of the Classical Media Group.
Ms. Islam has studied piano since she was four years old with Vivian Ueng (Julliard pre-college faculty), Nina Margret Grimsdottir and Ronald Hawkins both concert pianists, and Alexandra Vojcic (Julliard Faculty).
Neera is currently a student at Wellesley College with an expected graduation date of 2012.
Ryan Kinsella, Baritone
Dramatic baritone Ryan Kinsella is widely recognized for the viscerally compelling nature of his vocal interpretations. Mr. Kinsella specializes in the dramatic Italian and German repertoire and performs regularly with several leading opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States.
Recent seasons have been highlighted by performances of Barber’s Anthony and Cleopatra with New York City Opera at Carnegie Hall, Gluck’s Alceste with Deborah Vogt and the New York City Opera Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and Vaughn Williams’ A Sea Symphony with the Orchestra and Chorus of St. Cecilia at Carnegie Hall. Further appearances include the VOX composer’s project with New York City Opera, Wotan in Wagner’s Siegfried with New Jersey Concert Opera, Amfortas in Parsifal, Holländer in Der Fliegende Holländer, and Siegfried with the Wagner Society of Washington, DC.
Reviewing Siegfried, the WASHINGTON POST declared, “Ryan Kinsella sang superbly… with sonorous bass tones.” Of his Kennedy Center performance in Walton’s Belshazzr’s Feast, the WASHINGTON POST further noted, “There was a booming yet never insensitive performance of the baritone part from Ryan Kinsella.”
Previous seasons include appearances with New York City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Central City Opera, Sarasota Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Washington Chorus and Orchestra, Collegiate Chorale, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Helena Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, Cellist
Praised by the New York Times as "a charismatic cellist", Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir has appeared as recitalist and chamber musician across the U.S., Germany, Poland, Italy, France and her native Iceland and has performed concerti with the Des Moines Symphony (Iowa) and the Silesian Philharmonic (Poland) among others. She has garnered numerous top prizes, including the Janigro Family and Romanini Foundation Awards at the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Zagreb, Croatia and most recently, the Zara Nelsova Award at the 2008 Naumburg Competition in New York City.
An avid chamber musician, Saeunn has collaborated in performance with Itzhak Perlman, Kim Kashkashian, the Cavani Quartet, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and members of the Guarneri Quartet in venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Currently, Saeunn is a member of Ensemble ACJW and a fellow of The Academy, a collaboration of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, performing chamber music at Carnegie Hall and bringing classical music to students in the New York City Public Schools.
An advocate of new music, Saeunn has premiered dozens of works, including most recently, commissioned works for cello by Daníel Bjarnason and Nicholas Csicsko. She performs new music frequently in venues in New York City such as The Stone and Le Poisson Rouge. Along with the masterpieces of the 18th, 19th and 20th century, Saeunn is constantly inspired by works composed in our time.
A certified Suzuki teacher, Saeunn received her pedagogy training under Tanya Lesinsky Carey (former President of the Suzuki Association of the Americas), her longtime teacher and mentor. She has served as teaching assistant to Mrs. Carey at Meadowmount School of Music, Richard Aaron at ENCORE School for Strings, as well as having coached chamber music groups at the Chamber Music Connection, Columbus and CIM's Summer Chamber Music Program. As a component of the work she does through The Academy, Saeunn works regularly at P.S. 28 in Brooklyn.
In 2006, Saeunn received a Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music with the highest honors for accomplishments in both cello and chamber music, the Ellis A. Feiman Memorial Award in Cello and the Bennett Levine Memorial Award in Chamber Music. She continued her studies at The Juilliard School and completed a Master of Music in 2008. Her principle teachers included Richard Aaron, Tanya Carey and Joel Krosnick.
Saeunn has performed in master classes for Zara Nelsova, Anner Bylsma, Bernard Greenhouse and Lynn Harrell, and was a featured soloist on NPR’s ”From the Top” and PBS’s “Sunday Arts”. She has been invited to summer festivals including the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Kneisel Hall, Villefavard Masterclasses in France, as well as the Sarasota and Marlboro Music Festivals.
Born in 1984 in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saeunn now lives in New York City. She plays on a cello made in Milan, Italy circa 1800.
Shiree Kidron, Soprano
Shiree Kidron, an Israeli soprano born in Haifa, is a unique and versatile vocalist/musician who appeared internationally as a classical singer, as well as a cantorial soloist, oratorio and as a Jewish Folk and world Music performer.
Ms. Kidron is currently the assistant Cantor of the prestigious Park Avenue Synagogue, NYC. She served as the cantor soloist for the High Holy Days and Shabbat services of Temple Sha’arey Tefillah in Westchester, NY, Beth El Congregation in Vineland, NJ as well as a cantorial service leader at the Friday Night live services of Sutton place Synagogue in NYC.
Ms. Kidron received her Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where her performance in the title role of Beauty in Spohr’s “Beauty and the Beast” led the New York Times to acclaim her “fresh and likable young voice.”
She is the vocalist of the Sheba Ensemble- a World/Classical female Jewish group comprised of 5 women (Voice, cello, violin, flute and piano) that focus on original music and traditional melodies in Ladino, Hebrew, English and Yiddish. Drawing on middle-eastern sounds and classical lyricism and virtuosity, the group fuses these styles with elements of pop, jazz and latin to create a unique sound. The group has performed in Israel, Miami, NY and made appearances on public TV and various radio stations. Upcoming engagements in Turkey and Israel in support of the recently released self-titled album, “Sheba.”
As a leading young soprano, she won the Sharon Tavor Vocal Competition for Singers and Orchestra and has performed arias of Mozart and Handel with the chamber orchestra of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where she received her musical Bachelors degree. She also won the David Whitcomb Foundation Award for promising young soloists and was granted a solo recital at Hudson.
Shiree has performed the role of Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof as part of the Natchez Opera Festival in Mississippi and the lead role of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro in Rome, Italy.
Recent engagements include a successful performance tour with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra in Ukraine where Shiree premiered the contemporary Jewish solo piece for voice, clarinet and orchestra – “Celestial Dialogues” composed by Ofer Ben- Amotz. Furthermore, she performed with the Ludwig Symphony in Atlanta and made several appearances with the Pacific Opera group in Carnegie Hall, NY.
Shiree has performed with the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater in NY in special Concert Series dedicated to Abraham Goldfaden sung in several locations in NY including CUNY University. She has performed a special musical program called Voices of a Home Land concentrating on the beauty of Israeli and Jewish repertoire performed in many places all through the States.
